Can't use my phone with non-EU sim

[Kianoosh19]

I bought an S23 from O2 Germany about a year ago and have been using it with two German SIM cards. Last month, I traveled to the UAE, but I couldn’t use my phone with a du SIM card. Everything I read suggests that I need to use my phone in Germany for one hour before I can switch to another SIM card. The du SIM card was activated and worked fine in my other phone. Is there any way to unlock my phone?

[-Robot-]

I thought it was use sim for country the phone is from for 5 mins

Maybe O2 Germany have network locked it, have you spoken to O2

[GoanGeek]

Hi.
Welcome .

This is a UK forum.

You will have to check with o2 Germany whether they carrier lick the phones there.

In the UK as far as I know phones are not locked any more and I would presume the same with EU ( I believe it was an Eu regulation).

I guess you will have to use other other phone till you find out what the issue is.

[Kianoosh19]

Yes, it’s 5 to 10 minutes, but I read somewhere that you should have a minimum of one hour for caution! I didn’t ask them directly, but I read in their community answers that they don’t have any locks on the phones anymore.

[Kianoosh19]

Hum! this is the link that i'm using:
https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/galaxy-s23-series/can-t-use-my-phone-with-non-eu-sim/m-p/1077731...
It said EU!
I came back from the UAE, but I want to know why I can’t use any other SIM card on my phone? and if possible how to fix it 😞

[-Robot-]

It's make a 5 min phone call, it even says it on the box, but you should speak to them first as the rules maybe different in Germany also you got it from a network provider

[Piper123]

Call O2 Germany as has been repeatedly suggested to obtain clarity.....

[Kianoosh19]

I spoke with O2, and they confirmed there’s no lock on my phone from their side. They suggested I reach out to Samsung to resolve the issue. 

[AndrewL]

@Kianoosh19: There sadly isn't anything that can be done from Samsung's side to resolve this issue. As per the above, it should be possible to unlock your phone for use with SIM cards outside your home region by making a 5-10 minute cumulative call to a local number from inside Germany, using a SIM card from that region. Have you tried both SIM slots in the phone, or activating an eSIM to see if this helps?